NGUYEN THI LAN ANH

As the Vice chairwomen of Vietnamese Federation on Disabilities; founder and director of the Action to the Community Development Institute in Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Lan Anh is a tireless advocate for rights of people with disabilities (PWDs), particularly those impacted by poverty, and the creation of a barrier-free society in Vietnam since 2002.

Among her many contributions, Lan Anh was a strong advocate behind Vietnam’s successful ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2014. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lan Anh led her organization in successfully advocating for sign language translation to be provided not only on late-night television programs, but in the official news hour of state television. She has advocated for improved access policies, such as the Vietnam standard criteria (VN10:2014), universal design in transportation (June 2020), and the amended Labor Code.

Since 2013, Ms. Lan Anh’s legal clinic has been providing free legal counseling services on disability issues. Over the last five years, the clinic has served 29,000 people, of which 18,000 are people with disabilities and their family members.

Over her 22-year career, Ms. Lan Anh has held various leadership positions to facilitate and enhance the social movement of PWDs in Vietnam, Board Member of the Vietnamese Federation on Disabilities (VFD), and a Steering Committee member of Vietnam Women’s Union.

She holds a master’s degree in policy advocacy on Disabilities and Public Management from Sydney University, Master Degree in Public Policy from Fulbright Vietnam and a Advance Bachelors degree in Special Education for Children with Disabilities from Artevelde University, Belgium. Lan Anh also holds a certificate on health equity training from Harvard and Yale Universities. Her tremendous efforts in advocating for PWDs and taking action on disability issues have earned her numerous accolades and recognitions, including:

• Activist women leader for the year of 2016 • Top active persons with disabilities for year of 2013-2015 • Female Vision Award 2013 • Top active young leader in 2009 • Top ten active Women of 2008 • Top ten women with disabilities of 2007 • Henry Viscardi Achievement Award in 2020 • Happy medal by the Vietnam Federation on Disability to recognize her outstanding contributions to improving the happiness of persons with disabilities in 2023.